A combination of high oil prices, regional political instability, volatile exchange rates and Emirates’ exposure to the global economic situation has brought the carrier back towards its international peers. Emirates reported a net profit of AED1.5 billion (USD409 million) in FY2011-2012, a dramatic 72.1% drop on the previous year’s result.

Even with the stiff headwinds pushing against it during the year, the carrier continued undaunted with its growth strategy. In FY2011-2012, Emirates took delivery of 22 new widebody aircraft and added 11 new destinations – a record number of new routes for the airline in a single financial year. It flew 34 million passengers at an 80% passenger load factor and increased its overall passenger traffic (revenue passenger kilometres) by just under 10%. Emirates now connects 122 destinations on six continents from its hub in Dubai.

Overall, revenue at the airline reached AED61.5 billion (USD16.7 billion), an increase of 16.5% from the previous year. Passenger revenue climbed 18.2% year-on-year, to AED49 billion (USD13 billion) due to the overall expansion of passenger numbers and flying, as well as higher fares.